Approximately 250 people received food packages at an electoral meeting in Dondușeni to vote "Against" in the referendum.

On September 19, 2024, during a meeting of supporters of the Political Bloc “Victory-Pobeda”, held in Dondușeni, where, according to the indictment retained by the court, approximately 250 people participated, the defendants allegedly acted based on a prior agreement for the purpose of bribing voters.

In the context of the presidential elections and the constitutional referendum scheduled for October 20, 2024, they allegedly offered participants bags/packages with the inscription “Victory”, containing food products (honey, tea, and pastries), in order to persuade them to exercise their electoral right in a certain way, including by casting their vote with the option “No” in the referendum.

Other property measures: Maintaining the asset seizure on real estate until the execution of monetary fines and the payment of court costs.

Joint collection of court costs in the amount of 50,540 lei

First court: Conviction

The analyzed decision concerns an accusation of electoral corruption under Article 181¹ of the Criminal Code, charged against five defendants in different forms of participation: Crudu Cristina as the organizer, and Belinschii Anatolii, Miron Marina, Șachirianova Natalia, and Șachirianova Tatiana as co-authors/accomplices.

The alleged act consists of organizing a pre-election meeting in Dondușeni on September 19, 2024, in the context of the constitutional referendum and the presidential elections on October 20, 2024, as well as providing goods in the form of food packages — to induce voters to exercise their electoral rights in a certain way, including by supporting the “No” option in the referendum. The case was examined in general procedure, with the defendants not admitting their guilt. The evidence was mainly based on the statements of witnesses who participated in the event, on findings regarding the distribution of packages, and on seized evidence, including materials with political symbolism.

The peculiarity of the case lies in the fact that several witnesses confirmed the distribution of packages but denied the existence of explicit instructions regarding the vote or claimed that the goods did not influence their electoral choice. Nevertheless, the court found the defendants guilty, taking into account the electoral context, the organization of the meeting, the political symbolism, and the purpose of electoral influence attributed to the actions. By the ruling of April 17, 2026, the Drochia Court, Central headquarters, imposed a monetary fine of 50,000 lei on Crudu Cristina and 45,000 lei on the other four defendants. The court maintained the asset seizure on the real estate until the fines were executed and the court costs were compensated, ordered the joint collection of 50,540 lei as judicial expenses, and established the return of several goods and monetary means seized upon the finality of the ruling, namely the destruction of certain electoral materials.

At the time of completing the file, the decision is a substantive one and can be appealed to the Northern Court of Appeal; the document does not indicate whether the appeal has been filed.